The home turf of two Vancouver sports teams has a new pizza partner, and it hails from rival city Toronto.
Pizza Pizza has entered into a multi-year partnership and is now the "official pizza partner of BC Place, the BC Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps FC," according to a media release.
The move is part of the Ontario-based brand's B.C. expansion strategy.
"We’re pumped for the fans in B.C. to enjoy a hot and fresh slice of Pizza Pizza during a game, concert or event," said Amber Winters, Senior Director of Marketing, Pizza Pizza.
The longstanding pizza staple from out east has been in business since 1967 when it launched in Toronto. The brand grew in the Ontario market in the 1990s, and came and went from Quebec in the 1980s and the early 2000s.
Similarly, in 2009, Pizza Pizza tried to capture the slice needs of Metro Vancouver, but wound up ultimately closing all of those locations.
In 2018, Pizza Pizza returned to the region and set up shop with stores around Metro Vancouver.
The brand now has over 775 locations across Canada and is considered the nation's biggest quick service pizza restaurant.
Pizza Pizza is a polarizing topic, to say the least, for Vancouver pizza fans. Some enjoy the brand because they have ordered it in Ontario in the past and it's cheap and familiar. Others are passionately opposed to getting their pizza from there; case in point: this 2019 Van Mag piece that holds no punches in calling the restaurant a vomit-inducing "assault on the senses" and its pizza "glorified cardboard." (Ouch.)
Fans in attendance for the BC Lions' home opener were not just treated to a 50 Cent concert but were also the first to experience having Pizza Pizza as a food option at BC Place, as that was when the Toronto pizza chain made its big debut at the venue.
Pizza Pizza will be available for purchase during games, concerts and other events at BC Place (so yes, that includes later this year when Taylor Swift arrives at the stadium with her massive Eras Tour).
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